The tree of the sad night
by Taco and Sombrero
Summary: During the battle against Haku Naruto meets his tenant, nut instead of a big-red fox he finds himself face to face with a very familiar man, ¿who is this man and what do he wants with the blond gennin?
1. Chapter 1 Epiphany

**A/N: Whazzup everyone, this is the first chapter of my secondary project i will be working on. It may take a little bit more for a new chapter to come out compared to my other story, but if it is well received then i will make it my main story. I already got a scene on my mind that i can´t wait to write, but it will happen after the timeskip so i got lots of work before getting there...**

**Disclaimer: I don´t own Naruto or any of its characters, and this is a work of pure fiction.**

**Chapter 1 Epiphany**

Naruto just couldn´t believe it, he had just been saved of a certain death by his rival and teammate Sasuke Uchiha. The same Sasuke Uchiha that used to mock him during his academy years, the same Sasuke Uchiha that he always strove to beat, the Sasuke Uchiha that was slowly opening up to his teammate and almost could be called his friend.

The blonde boy dropped to his knees and reached for his teammate´s cold body "Why?" said Naruto in a breeze like whisper.

"Is this your first time losing someone precious to you?" Asked the masked shinobi that was fighting the leaf gennin, he was wearing a green turtleneck sweater and a split skirt also green that reached down to his knees. On the outside of that, he wore a green blue short kimono with white edges, and around his waist a green brown obi, in the same fabric as his sweater, with a fringed trail. His usually long black hair was tied into a white bun and his fingernails and toenails were painted in blue green color.

Naruto ignored the masked shinobi and kept holding Sasuke. "Why do I have to be so weak?" mumbled Naruto, his hands trembling lightly and tightened his grip on the Uchiha. _'It´s all my fault, if I just wasn´t so stupid I could have helped Sasuke from the outside of this cursed dome of ice mirrors'_

Team 7 had come to the lands of the waves to protect a bridge builder named Tazuna so he could complete his bridge, but since the beginning things weren´t looking good for the Leaf´s team. Apparently the client had lied about the dangers of the mission, after all a team formed of freshly graduated gennin wasn´t ready to fight against missing-nins, especially the likes of meizu and gozu, the demon brothers, and Zabuza Momochi, one of the legendary seven swordsmen of the mist.

The team formed by Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and leaded by the copy-nin hatake kakashi, had barely survived their first encounter against zabuza, saved only because of the ingenious plan Naruto and Sasuke came with that allowed them to free their sensei and gain the upper hand against the missing-nin, but before they could finish Zabuza off, a hunter-nin from kirigakure came and apparently claimed Zabuza´s life with three senbons piercing his neck. Konoha´s team harmed and exhausted, let the hunter-nin take Zabuzas´s corpse away thinking he had actually killed the demon of the mist. Oh how wrong they were.

Now one week later, Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura comes face to face once again with the demon of the mist and his accomplice, the fake hunter-nin Haku who are ready to complete their mission and kill the bridge builder.

Now you must be asking who would hire several missing-nins just to kill one old bridge builder, well Gato would.

Gato is a rich business man who came to wave with the purpose of slowly conquer it so he could use it for all of his evil business. He isolated Wave from the other countries and used fear to control it easier and now a drunken old man is trying to build a bridge so Wave´s economy could return to normal and fight off Gato… Now Gato can´t have that, can he?

For the people of wave the bridge is their last hope of freedom, but for gato it is a nuisance to his plans, therefor he came with the perfect solution:_ 'the bridge builder has to die'_

With that in mind Zabuza charged at Kakashi while Sasuke measured himself against Haku and Sakura protected Tazuna. That's how the battle in the misty bridge started.

_'And then I came here so full of myself after saving tazuna´s family for some wannabe samurais, actually thinking I could be of some help …'_

_(_-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o)

Immediately after getting to the bridge Naruto headed towards where Sasuke was and Naruto being the naïve child that he was, entered Haku´s strongest technique created with his bloodline the **Hyōton: Makyō Hyōshō (ice release: demonic ice mirrors)**

Naruto and Sasuke had to evade numerous ice senbons throw to them while trying to perform a counter attack, but all of their efforts were useless because of haku´s ability to move from one mirror to another at great speed.

Eventually the injuries they sustained plus having to keep on evading the senbons got the leaf gennin exhausted, but then a ray of hope appeared when Sasuke unlocked the Uchiha Kekkei genkai, the Sharingan.

With his newly acquired Sharingan, Sasuke found evading the attacks of the ice user very easy, but lamentably that wasn´t the case for Naruto. Haku getting irritated, decided to eliminate the slower enemy first and fired a volley of ice senbons towards Naruto who found evading them impossible.

The young Uzumaki closed his eyes in resignation of his proximal death and prepared himself to become a human pincushion, but the pain never came.

Opening his eyes he saw that in fact he was still alive, but then he saw the unexpected, Sasuke´s unmoving body lay there in the cold floor with senbons sticking out of every visible part of of his chest and back… Sasuke had just taken the hit for him.

"Fuck, why do I have to be so weak?" Once more the blond haired boy asked himself now slightly louder than the first time.

"People tend to become strong when they have someone precious to protect" calmly replied the Masked missing-nin.

Releasing his hold on Sasuke, Naruto slowly started getting up "Damnit Sasuke-teme, up until the bitter end you had to act like a showoff and remind me that I'm the dobe of the class" Said Naruto, his voice gradually getting louder.

Around Naruto a burst of red chakra started forming making Haku very nervous, finally the blond´s eyes focused on the Masked boy and snarled "you…I´LL KILL YOU!"

In another burst of red chakra Naruto disappeared from his previous spot and appeared just in front of Haku throwing a punch so strong that destroyed the mirror Haku was in along with shattering his mask.

Flying several meters away from the enraged blonde, Haku hit the floor so hard that he rolled for a couple of meters more before finally come to a halt.

_'What power, and that chakra, it feels so…malicious, is he really the same kind boy I met yesterday?'_ Thought Haku while trying to regain his composure. After the punch connected all of the others mirrors were destroyed as well, providing Haku a clear view of the boy that had just sent him flying with just a punch.

Naruto Uzumaki just stood there, the red chakra twirling violently around him, unknown to Haku of what was happening in said blonde´s head.

_(_-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o)

Opening up his eyes after feeling something wet hit his forehead, he found himself in a place he had never been before, the dark ceiling, the floor with ankle deep water and the tubes hanging to the walls randomly accused the place to be some kind of sewer.

_'What´s going on? Just now I was fighting with that masked shinobi. How did I get myself into a sewer?_' Pondered Naruto while standing up in wobbly legs. Suddenly he heard a loud _'thump!' _coming from just ahead of him, wanting to investigate Naruto walked forward trying to find the source of the noise.

Soon enough the young Jinchūriki found himself in front of the massive gates of a kind of cage with a little paper seal in the middle, feeling nervous Naruto asked in a shaky voice to the darkness of the cage "Is someone in there?"

For a moment there was silence, then the voice of what seemed to be of a young adult rang from inside the cage "Naruto, is that you?".

Naruto's eyes suddenly turned sharp as he stared into the cage" Kyubi is that you?"

The voice pondered for a moment before responding "Not exactly Naruto-kun, wait let me show you what I mean"

From the shadowy deeps of the cage appeared a tall human silhouette revealing bright blue eyes and spiky blond hair with jaw-length bangs framing either side of his face.

"Now do you know who I am Naruto?" Asked the man garbed in a standard Konoha-nin uniform with two bands each on both of his sleeves, a flak jacket and a hitai-ate framing his forehead.

Naruto hesitated for a moment before answering "No, but you look kindof familiar…"

The tall figure sweat dropped and turned around showing his back to the confused gennin. Said gennin focused on the man´s short-sleeved long white coat, decorated by flames on the edges, and then saw the kanji for "Fourth Hokage" written vertically down the back.

Naruto´s face took a look of understanding and pointed a finger to the man coated in white "You're the fourth Hokage!" Exclaimed the blond boy.

The so called fourth Hokage let a soft smile frame his face "That's right Naruto; see you can be really smart when you focus."

The blond haired kid smiled sheeply and scratched the back of his head "Thanks I guess, but what are you doing in there Hokage-sama?" Naruto´s tone was relaxed and carried a slight tint of mistrust in it, something the fourth did not fail to recognize.

The Hokage sighted" Naruto, the night the kyubi came to our village I did my best to beat him, but in the end I wasn´t able to rival the biju´s power so I had to use my last resource and seal It inside of you."

The blonde jinchūriki gripped his fists so hard that his knuckles became white, he wanted to ask the Hokage why did he chose him to carry such a burden, but decided against it and stayed quiet.

The blond Hokage took a deep breath and resumed his explanation "The seal I used is called the Shiki Fūjin (Death demon consuming seal) my plan consisted in sealing the demon fox inside of you, but the fox´s chakra was so great that I found it impossible to do so, that is why I opted to seal only half of its chakra inside of you and the other half inside of the stomach of the shinigami."

Konoha's _Kiiroi Senkō (yellow flash)_ waited for a minute to allow Naruto absorb all of the information. "That´s fine and all, but still it doesn´t explains how did you ended up in here!" Replied a hasty Uzumaki craving for answers.

"The only thing I can think of that can answer your question is that the shinigami took pity on my soul and sealed me inside of you along with half of the fox´s chakra instead of eating my soul"

The orange clad boy nodded but still had suspicions 'If he really is the fourth, where is the fox?' thought Naruto, but before he could voice his concern the Hokage beat him to it.

"You must be thinking where the fox is, right?" At Naruto´s startled nod, he continued "You see, when I was sealed in you alongside the fox I was able to suppress the weakened fox with my willpower and eventually absorbed his conscience, that means the fox is no more and I have its chakra, pretty convenient huh?"

Naruto stood there letting the information sink in, everything this man said made sense to him and didn´t look to be lying. He was convinced, the man in front of him was the one who sealed the kyubi or now more like it´s chakra inside of him. He only had one more question.

"Why?" Naruto asked the same question he did on the bridge, but now it was directed to someone and with a different purpose. "What the hell did I ever do to you?" Growled out the blonde haired kid, "Why did you use the seal on me? You made my life a living hell for all that is worth!" Screamed Naruto, his whisker marks getting darker and his now slitted red eyes gave him a more feral look.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I'm really sorry" Of all the things that could have happened Naruto never expected to see the fourth Hokage, _Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō,_ the man who single-handily defeated an army of shinobi from iwagakure, on his knees, with his forehead touching the dirty sewer floor begging for forgiveness. "For 12 years I've been thinking what could I say to you after I finally get meet you again, but this is all I could think of. I, Namikaze Minato beg you Naruto to forgive your fool of a father."

The young gennin was flabbergasted to say the least, had this man actually called himself what he thinks he heard? "Fa-father?" Stumbling over his words he had to confirm what he heard was right. "A- are you really my father?"

Minato stood up and gave Naruto a small smile "Yes Naruto, I am your father" as soon as those words left his mouth he found himself enveloped in a hug by none other than his blond haired son, although surprised, Minato didn´t hesitated in wrapping his arms around his so long forsaken son.

And so, forgetting about time, with arms wrapped around each other across the bars that separated them, father and son finally reunited after 12 years of loneliness in a hug.

Slowly separating from each other arms Minato spoke up "Naruto I promise you that I will make it up to you, although I can´t do much in here I can train you if you want to and aid you with the kyubi's chakra when you need it.

Naruto nodded and asked something that has been bugging him for a while "Dad, who was my mother?" The Hokage replied with a smile on his chiseled face "My boy of course I will tell you about your mother, but not now, as soon as you return to Konoha I will tell you. Naruto hear me and hear me well" Naruto Uzumaki couldn´t help but flinch at how commanding his voice sounded, was this the voice of a serious and powerful Hokage?

"I want you to understand something my son, the leaf village has disregarded my wish of you being treated as a hero, I saw how they treat you and I feel disgusted about it. Even if you weren´t my son they shouldn´t be treating you the way they are" Minato took a deep breath and continued "The leaf is full of ignorant and stupid people, I'm sure there´s also kindness in there, but that´s only true to a small portion. Not only they have mistreated you, but you are also being used, Hiruzen Sarutobi is scared of you, he wants you to be loyal to the leaf that´s why he filled your mind with all of that Hokage crap."

Naruto visible flinched at his father´s harsh words; he could feel the hate in them, but couldn´t help but mentally nod to all of what his dad had told him. Since his childhood the third Hokage had told him not to hate the villagers for treating him the way he was treated, Sarutobi made sure to show the little boy how he always got respect for being the Hokage, he wanted the boy to aim at being Hokage, because that was the best way he could make sure the kyubi jinchūriki stayed loyal to the leaf.

'Ji-ji was just using me; he only did care for me because he didn't want his precious village in any danger…'

Slowly the naïve mind of the 12 years old Naruto began to open up to the real world, he had been with his eyes closed for far too long, wanting to believe in Konoha as the good guys. 'There are no good or bad guys in this world, there´s only the weak and the strong people.' Thought Naruto feeling a little depressed.

Minato saw the change in Naruto's behavior and got worried. "Hey son, don´t worry, even if the world turns against you, I will always be at your side" Minato assured his son with a big smile splattered on his face.

The blond boy smiled 'That´s right, I'm not alone anymore' Naruto didn´t feel depressed anymore, but now a consuming rage was growing inside of him "Konohagakure no sato . That place has only given me pain and hate; I refuse to call that village my home any longer!"

The fourth put a hand on the short boy´s shoulder and said "You are correct, that place has wronged us for far too long and someday it will pay, but right now I think it is time for you to return to the bridge, you have work to do my son." Finished Minato with a grin adorning his lips.

"All right dad, but before I go there´s something I need to know…¿what would happen If I take the seal off?"

Minato´s grin instantly fell and told Naruto in a serious tone "Naruto, you must never and I repeat, never take the seal off, because if you do so, indeed I will be free, but it would also kill you, so I forbid you from even thinking about it."

Naruto shrugged, he knew it wouldn´t be so simple, but maybe he could find a way to release his dad without having to die. "I understand father, after all I don´t want to be grounded or something" finished Naruto with a small laugh, still getting used to the feeling of having a father.

"All right dad I will be off" Said Naruto as he started to leave.

"Be careful my son" responded Minato who could see a smile on Naruto's face before he disappeared from his mindscape.

As soon as Naruto exited his minscape, the light started fading away from the sewer and Minato slowly walked backwards into the darkness of the cage.

"Yes, go Naruto, make daddy proud" Said Namikaze Minato opening his now red and slitted eyes.

Once Minato was totally engulfed by the shadows the only remain of his presence was the deep, guttural chuckle that echoed the sewer´s walls.

_(_-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o)

**E/N OK here is the first chapter, i want to know what everyone thinks about this minato and if ya want to you can suggest pairings, although im leaning for a Harem.**


	2. Chapter 2 The path of the Beast

**A/N: Ok, second chapter is up, it may be a little short considering how long it took for it to be updated, but blame it on exams and Dragon Quest IX...Stupid addictive game.**

**Anyway, this chapter is about the end of the mission to Wave and its repercussions. It contains material that could be considered as gore, so all gore-haters be warned.**

**Disclaimer:I don´t own Naruto or any of its characters, and this is a work of pure fiction.**

* * *

**Chapter 2 The Path of the Beast**

* * *

"Damn you to hell…" One Sandaime Hokage muttered. The legendary Hiruzen Sarutobi was as usual in his office performing one of the most tedious duties of a leader, the paperwork. He always hated how those small sheets of paper piled up on top of his desk and created mountains and mountains of never ending torment.

The normally diligent Hokage sighed and rubbed his temple, today he just couldn´t concentrate on his work. Since he woke up in the morning he has been feeling uneasy, his reliable instincts told him that something was very wrong and that the peaceful morning that greeted Konoha was only the calm before the storm.

_'Last time I had this eerie feeling was in the prelude of the fox's attack 12 years ago, is it just my imagination or is the village really in danger?'_

The sound of someone knocking on his door brought the Hokage out of his reverie.

"Enter." The Hokage simply said.

To his delight the tall figure of one of his prized Jounin came through the door, his silvery and spiky hair that defied the gravity being one of his most characteristic traits along with the dedicated mask that always covered his lower face.

Since the moment that Kakashi entered the room, Hiruzen easily spotted the gloominess that stained his usual demeanor. "Hokage-Sama, I, Kakashi Hatake, leader of team 7, has come to give you the report of the escort mission assigned to my team."

"Kakashi, good to see you, how was the escort mission?"

The Jōnin cleared his throat and proceeded to tell his leader his mission report. Kakashi told the Hokage how just a few miles away from the village his team was attacked by the Demon brothers and consequently about how the client lied about the mission parameters, but even so Team 7 decided to continue the mission after hearing the situation that Wave was in.

When Kakashi recounted their first encounter with the Demon of the mist, Zabuza Momochi, the Jōnin saw that his leader was glaring at him. _'He must want to berate me about allowing a team of fresh Genin perform a mission that could easily be considered as A-rank.'_ The Copy ninja sighed and tried to ignore the piercing gaze that Shinobi no Kami was sending him, but it was starting to hurt him. Kakashi resumed his report and described how he presumed they were tricked into believing that Zabuza was death after their fight, so for a whole week he trained his team just in case his assumptions were correct.

"And I was right, exactly one week later we were attacked by a healthy Zabuza and his partner while we were in the bridge looking after Tazuna-san. I engaged Zabuza, Sasuke fought against Zabuza´s partner named Haku and Sakura guarded our client. Sasuke was able to match Haku´s speed and it seemed like Sasuke really had a chance against Haku, that is, until he revealed his Kekkei Genkai."

The Sandaime took a puff from his pipe. "A Blood Line limit you say? What kind?" The smoker asked, clearly intrigued about this new revelation.

" Haku´s Blood Line allowed him to combine wind and water chakra to create ice that he could easily manipulate. He used his control over ice to overwhelm Sasuke by trapping him in a dome formed by ice mirrors, I wanted to go and help him knowing how dangerous a Keekei Genkai could be, but if I went to Sasuke then Sakura and Tazuna would be exposed to Zabuza and his giant Decapitating Carving Knife. Luckily Naruto, who was in Tazuna´s house after exhausting himself training, appeared just in time to support Sasuke, but unluckily Naruto decided to rush things and entered the ice dome without assessing the situation, from there on things just got worse. Zabuza proved to have learned from our previous encounter by countering successfully my Sharingan with a thick mist and from what I was hearing, Naruto and Sasuke weren´t faring much better. My fight with Zabuza continued but then…" Suddenly the Jōnin stopped talking and froze on the spot, like if he was in a kind of a trance.

This Cliffhanger didn´t bode well with the ancient Hokage that was currently sitting on the edge of his chair waiting anxiously for the outcome of the mission. "Kakashi, resume your report."

The silver haired man nodded dumbly and told the Hokage what took place next in the bridge…

* * *

Meanwhile on the other side of the village, a lonely figure sulked on his bed. His spiky blond hair was the only visible trait that escaped the concealment that his warm blanket provided.

The covered figure just lay there, without moving an inch or even giving the slightest twitch, a statue made of flesh, a soulless husk, a breathing rock, were perfect examples that could be applied to the motionless body of Naruto Uzumaki on top of the mattress. Although on the outside he was immobile, on the inside he was in turmoil.

An all-out war was taking place in the young blond´s head, conflicting ideals clashed against each other while thoughts rampaged through the battlefield that had become his mind.

_'Was that what being a real Shinobi is like?'_ The Genin pondered, still thinking about his last mission._ 'Or did I follow the path of a monster…'_ Naruto dug deeper into his covers while he recalled the events that drove him into the pits of depression…

**(-o-o-FLASHBACK-o-o-)**

A bridge that represented the hope and the salvation of a whole country was the final scenery of a raging battle that would decide the destiny of the Land of Waves. Will Wave bow to the wishes of an economy Tyrant like Gatō or will the land be liberated from his grasp? When the sound of metal clashing against each other ceases and when the blood stops dripping, the side that remains standing will decide the future of a land and the people that lives in it.

_'What power, and that chakra, it feels so…malicious, is he really the same kind boy I met yesterday?'_ Thought a black haired teenager while trying to regain his composure without taking his eyes off the young blond whose current role was being his opponent.

The teen named Haku watched in horrid fascination at the storm of crimson chakra that originated from his opponent. The mist that enveloped the whole bridge carried a slight red tint on it that got darker the closer it was to the epicenter of the foul energy.

Haku saw that the boy in front of him had his eyes closed, a fatal error to any shinobi, a perfect moment to strike and end with the life of his adversary, but entranced by the dreadful, yet impressive display of sheer power, he couldn´t bring himself to attack, nor to stop trembling.

Two seconds passed before the blond opened his eyes. His once baby blue eyes were now red with slitted pupils, also his whiskers darkened and widened. The twirling red chakra began to retract towards where it came from and settled around the body, providing it with a mantle made of glowing chakra.

He took a step forward…

Haku reacted by throwing a barrage of ice Senbon at him, but the sharp crystals were destroyed when they entered in contact with the energy that surrounded the blond.

He took another step forward…

The fake Hunter-nin performed signs with only one hand and muttered anxiously. "**Sensatsu Suishō (Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death).**" From the water on the bridge´s floor rose hundreds of ice Senbon that surrounded the approaching boy and in one quick motion each one of them flew towards him, but the result was the same as Haku´s previous attempt. All of the Senbon were turned into glistening ice dust when they reached their objective.

He took another step forward…

Haku took a step back intimidated by the unstoppable force that the blond was and in a blink on an eye the Genin reduced the distance between them. The black haired Shinobi barely evaded a vicious swipe infused with vile chakra coming from his side by crouching but not even he could elude the kick that followed. Naruto's right foot connected with the face of the feminine boy and he was sent flying upward. Haku recovered in midair but then he saw an approaching hand of red chakra that coiled around his ankle and he seethed with pain as the red energy burned his skin.

Naruto reeled his arm back and the energy pulled Haku back to the ground, smashing the teen against the hard cement of the bridge´s floor.

The Uzumaki calmly approached the downed and battered body of Haku, the chakra still flared around Naruto untamed and unpredictable, just like fire. He grabbed Haku´s throat and lifted him easily, giving him a clear look of his opponent´s face.

"You are that boy I met yesterday; you were an enemy all along." Naruto spoke with a hurt expression on his face, but then it turned into one of rage. "Why didn´t you kill me yesterday, you had the perfect chance to do so! Did you think I was so useless that I wasn´t worth killing or was it just pity!" Naruto tightened his hold on his enemy, his clawed hand sinking into the soft flesh of his neck while the warm blood slid down his arm. "I hate being pitied the most! When you spewed that crap to me in the forest, were you trying to deceive me? I remember your words clearly, you said that when a person has something important to protect is when they can truly become strong, well, look at me now, the boy that you pitied has your life in his hands! I don´t have anyone to protect except myself and I am kicking your ass!" Said the enraged, but still in control boy.

Haku struggled to break free from the blond´s hold, he wanted to tell him that what he had tell him was true, that he never had the intention of lying to him, but the only sound that came from his burning throat were muffled moans of pain. _'Zabuza-san… I cannot… Defeat this boy…'_

Naruto snarled, showing off his enlarged fangs. "Let me tell you something, you are not the only one that can kill his heart to become a real Shinobi, I can do it too!" Haku stopped struggling and with all the strength he could muster on his aching throat he spoke. "Kill…Me."

The blond boy´s eyes widened at what he heard. "Why are you giving up so easily, don´t you want to protect what is precious to you?" Naruto locked eyes with the pale ninja and got irritated when he saw the blank look on his face. "Zabuza-san…has no need…for someone weak… a dull blade like me…is useless."

'**He is an enemy'** Naruto narrowed his slitted eyes. "You are pathetic…"

'**Show no mercy'** His grip tightened and his claws sunk deeper into the teen´s neck.

'**Kill him.'** The skin of the pale ninja got even paler. Like a fish out of the water he opened his mouth struggling for air, a natural reflex of a body trying to stay functional. **'Kill him!' **His eyes rolled to the back of his head and because of the lack of oxygen, his conscience started to leave his body. **'KILL HIM!'**

The sound of birds chirping reached the fading hearing of Haku. _'Zabuza-san!'_ His resolve to protect his precious person filled the body of the 15 years old with new found strength that was used to kick his opponent in the face and break free from his hold.

Naruto staggered back and glared at Haku. "Sorry Naruto-kun, I can´t die yet!" Haku made hand signs but Naruto was having none of that. Focusing chakra into one of his hands he thrust his hand forward and a flow of energy in the form of a claw shot towards Haku.

The attack barely hit and it shredded the left side of Haku´s battle kimono and what seemed to be some binding tape. _'The hell… He has breasts!'_

Naruto's jaw almost reached the floor. "Y-you, you are a girl!" Said the Uzumaki while pointing an accusing finger in the direction of the now revealed female.

Haku looked down at her torn clothes and actually blushed before hiding her porcelain skin from the wandering eyes of the blond. "It doesn´t matter if I am a boy or a girl, I'm still your opponent!" Even though she said that, she was still covering herself.

This new found revelation shocked Naruto but it also made him feel relieved._ 'Thanks Kami she is a girl, I was starting to doubt my sexually…'_

The two stared at each other for a couple of seconds, neither one knowing how to act. Then Haku gasped loudly at seeing that the thick mist was starting to clear._ 'Zabuza-san!'_ Haku performed hand signs and before Naruto could react, she disappeared.

Naruto turned his head left and right trying to catch a glimpse of the black haired girl, he didn´t find her, but he did see the figures of people through the now clearing mist and ran towards them.

"How disappointing, in the end the infamous Demon of the Hidden Mist was just a little baby devil." The blond boy heard a voice he had never heard before, the mocking voice was gruff and carried a tone of superiority in it.

When he found Haku he saw her kneeling besides the unmoving body of her partner. Zabuza had a deep wound on his chest, just in the place where his heart would be. His Sensei was standing some feet away fromn the dead ninja and the stoic girl, his right arm dripping blood and looking in the direction where the voice came from.

Naruto followed his sensei´s gaze and saw a short man around 48 years old wearing a Tuxedo and a cane in his right hand standing in front of an army of thugs. "Too bad that he is already dead; I wanted to see his face when i told him that I never had any intentions of paying him." The man sported a smirk on his face. "What do we have here?" Even though Gatō had sunglasses on, everyone could see the lust in his eyes when he looked at Haku. "I remember you; you are that brat that was always following Zabuza around. Let me tell you that you are lucky, I was planning to kill you alongside Zabuza for having the nerve of disrespecting me, but now I think I have a better use for you." Gatō liked his lips while seeing the partially naked form of Haku and then turned around and began to walk away. "Kill the Shinobi and the bridge builder, but capture the girl and maybe I will let you have your fun with her later."

Something snapped inside Naruto when he heard the words that the man in front of him had spoken, who was he to dictate who lives and who dies? Who was he to decide the future of another human being? A man that hides behind his bodyguards and orders them around on top of his Ivory tower, away from any kind of danger while real men killed each other, has no right to act like a god. So why are all those people following his orders? Had the world become so twisted that blood spilled now means nothing while comparing it to money? All that the hard working people are now is a fountain of resources waiting to be exploited by someone like Gatō. A world where throat cutting knives named Shinobi can be easily bought if you have the money. Killing people was now just another way of gaining a profit.

A small group of thugs walked leisurely forward, seeing no danger in an exhausted ninja, a little kid, a shoked girl and a corpse. "You heard the boss missy, you are coming with us, but don´t worry we will take good care of ya." The Hoodlums chuckled and one of them made of grab for Haku.

The same thug that attempted to capture the kneeling girl got confused when his arm didn´t seem to reach her, he looked to the ground and there he saw his arm still oozing body fluid, then his pain receptors acknowledged what had just happened and pain suddenly coursed through his body. A loud shriek rang on the giant bridge when the lowlife saw that his arm had been cut from below the shoulder, he tried to stop the fountain of red liquid that sprayed from where his limp had been severed but he only succeeded in making the grotesque show of his suffering even worse. Suddenly the bridge got quiet again but the silence was cut short when a thump was heard. Kakashi eyes widened when something warm splattered on his face and he got a clear view of the still standing but now headless body as it slumped to the ground and fell in a loud thud.

Many of the witnesses had to cover their mouths to prevent the vomit from escaping their insides, but one pink haired girl wasn´t so lucky and spewed the contents of her stomach to the floor when she saw all that blood and grey matter flowing out from the decapitated corpse.

"What the fuck happ-"One of the remaining thugs of the small group that came forward tried to say, but his words were replaced by the noise of him gagging when an arm cloaked in red energy pierced his stomach and went through it without any difficulty.

The thug produced one last grunt of pain when his soon to be killer pulled out his invading arm from his body and it didn´t take long for the blood mixed with bile to be released from their confinements.

"N-Naruto?" The silver haired Jōnin asked after seeing the brutal display of power that his normally kind student manifested.

The boy turned around to look at his Sensei, the unholy aura around him had become now even darker as the cloak took a form resembling one of a fox, his single tail swishing with the chilly breeze that blew across the giant steel structure.

Kakashi took a step back when he saw a pair of red and slitted eyes focusing solely on him. Fearing that the seal keeping the demon in bay had broken, he went through different plans on how to subdue the demonized blond if he had gone amok. "The transformation is still on its initial forms, I can take him on, but if he spurts out more tails then it will be impossible for me to do so without help…" The Jōnin whispered to himself.

"You know, I can hear you clearly Sensei. Don´t worry, I can still tell the difference between my friends and my this to me, these guys are thrash and I will take them out." The Copy Ninja was surprised at how frivolous his student was talking, he tried to say something back, but even he, an experienced ninja who fought on a war and killed countless enemies was feeling intimidated by the sinister aura that the young boy was exuding.

"W-What are you fools doing?" A shaky voice was heard behind the wall of mercenaries. "He is only a child! Deal with him!" Yelled the business man but his words were ignored, the morale of the thugs was under the sea after seeing how brutally two of them had been killed and all that they wanted now was to get away from the demon that was currently watching them, like a predator looking at his prey.

Then he launched forward letting out a roar that almost made his enemies piss themselves, they readied their weapons to defend themselves from the red blur coming at them on all four like a wild animal, but Naruto was on a mission and anyone that tried to stop him from reaching his target would have to be destroyed.

Running as fast as a bullet, Naruto collided against the front line of the small army and passed through them rather easily, their weapons couldn´t pierce the protection that the chakra shroud granted him.

Kakashi and Sakura could do nothing but watch the grotesque show that their student and teammate respectively was putting up. Screams of agony were the soundtrack of this horror movie. Dismembered arms, legs and heads were flying into the air, and blood fell like rain on top of the dead bodies that littered the battlefield. They couldn´t exactly see him as he was lost in the sea of mercenaries, but they could pinpoint his location by the red glow that he exuded, and that red glow was advancing quickly towards the businessman that enslaved Wave.

"Just die already, you monster!" One of the thugs screamed as he stood firmly and thrust his spear forward to stop the assault of the incoming blond. The spear miraculously went through the thick shroud of chakra and impaled Naruto, but even with a spear piercing his shoulder, he pushed forward and the thug holding the weapon skidded backwards by the raw strength of the demonized Genin. Eventually, the thug lost the handle of his spear, allowing the blond to move forward faster and the next thing that the man knew was that his entrails were spilling on the ground caused by a deep gash on his midsection that almost cut him in half.

And so, he resumed on the warpath that led to his target, he had already forgotten how many men he killed, every time someone got in his way the Shinigami got more souls to collect, some died easily and quietly but some of the most stubborn ones were able to injure him, of course those were the ones that suffered the most gruesome deaths.

'**Come on son, don´t give up!'** Naruto heard the voice of his father as soon as he started to feel dizzy, the several weapons incrusted in his back slowing him down**. 'We have finally met! I don´t want to lose you!'** The encouraging words numbed the pain and gave him the strength he needed to move forward. **'You don´t want to die now that you have family, do you?'** "No!" Yelled the boy as he evaded the slash of a sword and then plunged two of his clawed fingers into the eyes of the one that attacked him until he was no longer screaming**. 'You want to feel what is like to have a father, right?'** "Yes!" Naruto threw the body of the thug towards one small group of enemies coming at him from behind, then he used his chakra enlarged claw to swipe off the bridge several mercenaries to create a clear path to his target. **'Then kill so we can be together!'**

Gatō frightened when he saw the beast that obliterated more than half of his army of soldiers of fortune, looking directly at him. He couldn´t take any more, those red eyes were driving him insane, visions of his impending death filled his mind and he would not stop trembling, so he ran away as fast as his small legs could take him.

The Uzumaki raced after the escaping tyrant, everything around him was dark, the only thing that he could clearly see was the retreating form of the short man and when he was close enough he leaped at him just like what a cougar would do, his eyes fixated on the flaccid skin of his neck. Then when he felt the squirming form of Gatō under him, he sunk his fangs as hard as he could and then the darkness claimed him…

**(-o-o-END OF FLASHBACK-o-o-)**

"He ripped the spinal cord out of his body, Hokage-sama, with the teeth nonetheless!" Kakashi deeply concerned about his student´s behavior told the Hokage. "There is no way that Naruto would do something like that; it must have been the Kyūbi controlling him!"

"Calm down Kakashi!" The Hokage said to his Jōnin. "If the fox had taken control over his body, then he would have attacked not only the mercenaries, but also you, your team and anyone on his sight. You also told me that he spoke to you before going on a rampage, that means that he knew what he was doing, but we can´t discard the possibility of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox influencing Naruto." The Jōnin nodded at the logic of his leader. "Resume your report"

The silver haired man stood firmly. "Naruto blacked out after he dispatched Gatō and when the thugs saw that he was out cold they approached him to take vengeance for killing their meal ticket. I was about to help him when all the people of wave appeared ready to fight back against the invaders. The decimated group of mercenaries ran away when they noticed how outnumbered they were. It was then that Sakura informed us that Sasuke was still alive and when we went to Naruto we saw that he was already being tended by Haku."

Kakashi took a deep breath and continued his report. "It took two weeks after Gatō's death for the bridge to be completed. That girl Haku only left Naruto's side during the whole week that he was unconscious when we buried Zabuza, we kept her identity a secret from the villagers because we didn't consider her a danger, although Sakura was a little edgy around her as she was to me. The second week was rather uneventful, Naruto was bedridden for only one more day before he could stand up, during this week Naruto made almost null contact with us, with Sasuke he would greet him and ask him how he was feeling but that was all, he spent most of his time walking around the village with Haku or just talking with her. I don´t know what Naruto told her but when the day of our departure came, she looked really happy and told us that she was going to stay in Wave and protect it if anything similar happened again. Probably she wanted to stay near Zabuza´s grave and we allowed her to, after all she was not considered a Missing-nin. During our way back to the village, Naruto was silent; he only opened his mouth to respond to my orders or questions, but whenever I asked him if he was okay, he would just say yes. As soon as we returned to the village I dismissed my team and told them that I would give them a couple of weeks to rest from the mission, of course if you agree Hokage-sama."

"They deserve the rest Kakashi and Naruto needs the time to sort out his thoughts, the first kill is an important event in the life of a Shinobi, but it is also one of the hardest." The Hokage took a puff from his pipe.

"Very well, if that is all then I would like to take a break also." Kakashi said and eye smiled to his leader.

"All right, this mission will be considered as an A-Rank, return later for your payment, you are dismissed Kakashi." As soon as those words left the Hokage´s mouth, Kakashi left the office via Shunshin.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes to find himself in the sewer-like abode of his father; he must have fallen asleep while recalling the mission that had deeply affected him.

He stood up from the muddy water and guided by his instincts he walked down the hall with pipes running across the ceiling that would lead him to his Dad…

* * *

**A/N: Cool, so how was it? i consider this chapter as an important part of the transition between the old Naruto and the new Naruto.**

**Next chapter will deal with Naruto´s feelings, training and maybe the beginning of the Chūnin exams. **

**I will try to update sooner, but now as the diligent student that i am, i need to study for my exam of Anatomy... or was it Biochemistry? Dammit i´m so screwed. Whatever im gonna eat some Nachos.**


	3. Chapter 3 Changes

**A/N: Well it has been a while since i last updated, but hey i got a great excuse for it! For about 2 months i went to some kind of cram school everyday so i could pass the entrance exam of the university i had my sights on, it consumed plenty of my free-time of the afternoon there, but i passed so it was totally worth it! Anyway read on.**

**Disclaimer:I don´t own Naruto or any of its characters, and this is a work of pure fiction.**

* * *

**Chapter 3 Changes**

* * *

'Drip'

'Drip'

Incessant drops of water joined one by one with their similar as they slid down from the pipes that ran across the ceiling of the murky corridor.

Apart from the constant dripping pestering the silence, the sound of splashing could also be heard echoing off the walls as a crestfallen Naruto walked through the flooded room.

"**Come closer my child."** Guided by the rumbling, yet familiar voice calling out for him, Naruto made his way through the maze that his mindscape was and reached the dwelling place of his resident and relative.

The man behind the bars smiled as he saw his first and only child approaching the cell that imprisoned him, but frowned when he saw the apathy in his usual cheery demeanor**. "Is something bothering you Naruto-kun?"** Asked Minato with a concerned tone of voice that only a father worried about his son could muster.

His dad´s voice reassured the blond Uzumaki, he was no longer alone, now he had a confidant, someone he could talk to, someone that cared for his wellbeing and would never betray him, now he had a friend, but over all that, he now had a family.

"**Naruto-kun, why are you crying?"**

Naruto covered his eyes with his right forearm so his father wouldn´t see his eyes brimming with tears. "I…I'm confused Otou-san, those men on the bridge were my enemies so I shouldn´t feel bad for what I did, but somehow I can´t forget the expressions they had on their faces just before I killed them… I can´t take it anymore, they haunt me in my dreams, I'm scared of going to sleep because I don´t want to remember that day." The dam keeping at bay Naruto's emotions was broken by his insecurity and vulnerability. "How can I call myself a ninja when I am not strong enough to take someone´s life without crying?"

The Yondaime sighed; he knew it was just a matter of time before the events on the bridge break the boy. During the last couple of weeks of the mission Naruto endured all the depressing feelings and thoughts he had to help Haku overcome her own depression. He stayed strong for her, but she also made him stong.

"**What you are feeling is completely natural. It was your first time killing, and that is never easy, if you want to cry then cry, I will never think less of you because you have shown me your determination each time you faced an adversity in your life full of hardships and took it like a man worthy of respect."** The former Hokage said.

With streaks of tears running down his cheeks, the blond Uzumaki looked at his father. **"Sochi-kun I think you are misunderstanding the meaning of the word 'strength'. You can´t say that someone is strong based on his number of kills. Your friend Haku believes that people become strong when they have a precious someone to protect. Well, she isn´t far from the truth, but her Nindō lacks something crucial."**

"A-and what i-is that Otou-san?" Naruto asked between sobs, but calmer that before nonetheless.

Minato smirked and answered his child**. "Ambition my boy, ambition."** The fourth Hokage paced back and forth in his cage all the while speaking to his legacy. **"You saw how willingly she would throw her life away if that meant protecting that brow-less man , after all the only purpose of her simple life was serving him; she lost everything when he died, she became weak, she would have taken her own life if it wasn´t for you talking some sense into her."**

The Uzumaki nodded understanding what his father was talking about**. "Naruto what is your dream? Do you still want to be the leader of a village? Do you want to be respected by everyone? Do you yearn for family? Or is it revenge what you wish for?"** The Yondaime gripped the bars with both of his hands and leaned his head closer. **"What do you want?"**

Naruto pondered for a minute. Respect was what he always yearned and being the leader of a village would give it to him, but he also wished to someday have a family of his own, to have the love that was always denied to him, but he also couldn´t forgive, neither forget the way the village hidden in the leaves treated him over the years. He was in a dilemma, which one should he choose? The path to gain respect? Search for love? Or take Revenge?

"**You don't have to choose you know"** The voice of his dad threw Naruto him out from his thoughts. **"You can have it all if that is what you wish for. Naruto-kun, be ambitious and you will become strong, after all a strong shinobi is a ninja with the resolve to follow and protect his dream, someone that will destroy anything or anyone that keeps him away from his goal. Do you understand what I'm trying to say son?"**

"Yes… I think I get it, but how am I going to reach and protect my dreams if I can´t even protect myself against other ninja?" Asked Naruto whose tears disappeared a long time ago and their only remnants were the slightly wet cheeks of the Uzumaki.

Minato grinned widely.**" Back in the bridge I told you I was going to help you train, didn´t i?"**

Naruto's mood brightened up considerably at the prospect of being trained by someone as powerful as the blond Hokage. "Really? That´s awesome! What king of super-cool Jutsu are you going to teach me first?"

The yondaime laughed at his son´s antics and answered in a way that killed Naruto´s good mood. **"Now, who said anything about Jutsu?"**

"B-but you said you were going to train me!" Naruto yelled while pointing an accusing finger at his dad.

"**Put that finger down young man!"** Minato scolded his pouting son. **"I will train you, but I don´t think you are ready to learn new Jutsu. We will start with the basics, and with the basics I mean chakra control exercises and some taijutsu training."**

The blond kid sat on the floor with his arms and legs crossed "Oh man, I hate those chakra control exercises, I suck at them."

Minato nodded with his eyes closed. **"Yes you do, but that is exactly why you must train your control. Think about it Sochi-kun, you have enormous chakra reserves and that messes up your control, but if you manage to have at least decent control over your chakra then you could perform hundreds of Jutsu without even breaking a sweat."**

"Wow that would be really cool!" Said the blond kid clearly amazed. "But it would take too much time Tou-san…"

Minato grinned.** "Not necessarily my boy."** When Minato got his son´s full attention he continued. **"Naruto-kun, create a Kage Bunshin."**

Confusion marred the boy´s face but he did a cross shaped hand seal and complied with his father's request. **"Kage bunshin no jutsu! (Shadow clone technique!)**

When the cloud of smoke dispersed, an identical clone of Naruto was revealed.

"**Good, now I need your clone to approach me."** The clone on Naruto's right came forward and when he got close enough to Minato, the Hokage whispered something in the clone´s ear and then punched it.

Now with the clone gone, Minato spoke to the remaining Naruto. **"Do you know what your mother´s hair color was?"**

The Uzumaki raised an eyebrow "You just told me she was a redhead."

"**No I didn´t, I told your clone Naruto-kun. The real purpose of the shadow clone is information gathering, not fighting, so any information one of the clones has when dispersed will be transferred to the user, that is how you knew that your mother's hair color was red."**

"That is cool and all, but how will that help with my training otou-san?"

"Elementally my dear Sochi-kun, by creating a clone and training alongside it for, let's say 2 hours, then dispelling the clone, the user, in this case you, will gain a total of 4 hours of training by adding the hours of training that your clone did."

Naruto's jaw almost reached the flooded floor when his mind processed the benefits that training with clones granted him. **"Of course this method of training is not recommended to most shinobi because of the danger that comes with performing the shadow clone technique, but in your case you don´t have to worry that much about chakra exhaustion thanks to the great amount of chakra that you possess, but be warned, even if exhaustion isn´t a problem to you it doesn´t mean that this kind of training is free of risks."**

Taking a pause to see the reaction of his son, he was pleasantly surprised by the intense look of determination that he had on his face when the possibility of becoming stronger was revealed to him.

"**Although there are dangers, the only thing you really need to watch out for is the quantity of clones that you make and the memory feedback when the clones dispel. If too many clones dispel then all the information that they gathered could fry your brain when it is transferred to you, but if you follow my instructions then there shouldn´t be any kind of problem."** The Hokage finished with a smile.

The blond boy raised his right fist up in the air. "Yosh! I will do my best, you will be proud of me sensei! Believe it!"

The fourth Hokage laughed and patted his son on the head when he was close enough. **"I know you will."**

Minato straightened and put on a serious facial expression. **"Now let´s talk about your training schedule. As I said before I think it is important for you to train the basics, that is why I want you to go every morning for a whole week to the library and read alongside at least 5 of your clones, henged clones by the way, anything you find about chakra control, basic taijutsu styles, academy jutsu and of course, about Konoha´s history." **

After hearing the word 'Library' Naruto visible deflated. "Dad I understand that studying the basics is important but why do I need to read about Konoha´s history?"

"**Naruto-kun, you want to make Konoha pay for everything it has done to you, don´t you?"**

The boy merely nodded. **"Well son a common tactic to any shinobi that respects himself is knowing your enemy and then strike where it hurts the most, also you could learn about all the awesome things I did when I was a shinobi of Konoha."**

"Oh okay, but you are a Hokage and all, why don´t you just tell me about it yourself instead of making me go to the library."

Minato stood silent for a couple of seconds before answering**. "Reading is important Sochi-kun, I think it is a good chance for you to develop your reading and comprehension skills seeing as those bastards in the academy never took the time to actually teach you."** Said the Hokage while thinking something completely different. _**'I can´t let him know that I suck at history, I would never hear the end of it…'**_

The tall blond put his fist in front of his mouth and coughed a couple of times**. "You will be in the library until noon, then you will have a break to rest and eat. Afterwards you will travel to a secluded training ground, where I want you to create the same quantity of clones that you did in the library and have them practice several chakra control exercises, while you will be training your speed and strength the old and hard way, you know, push-ups, squats, sprints and things like that"**

"Can´t I use clones to speed up the training?" Asked Naruto.

"**I´m afraid not, physical experience doesn´t transfers back to you, the most you could use them for is to spar. When the sun begins to set you will disperse your clones and you will perform a short session of chakra control exercises, the catch here is that I want you to leak some of my chakra into your own, small enough to be undetectable and controllable but big enough to power up your chakra. Seeing as you are still unfamiliar with my chakra it may be difficult but I want you to be fully concentrated in the task of controlling it, should you fail to do so my chakra will overcome yours and you could lose control over yourself, just like you did in the bridge."**

Uneasiness invaded the face of the child with golden hair, something that his father didn´t miss.

"**Worry not son; if that happens I will make sure to cut the flow of my chakra, but I warn you it will hurt, so try to avoid it, understood?"**

The Uzumaki gulped but nodded a reply.

"**Good, I predict that in a week you will have better control over your chakra than any other of the Genin your age, except maybe that pink-haired teammate of yours, whose only talent besides the perfect control over her minuscule chakra is shrieking."**

Naruto just smiled not knowing how to respond to his father's comment about his girl teammate. Before he would be mad at whoever said something like that to his pink-haired crush, but now that hate and the thirst of revenge had opened his eyes he no longer knew how to feel about her. _'I thought that I liked her, but she acts just like all the other villagers do, she hits me, screams at me and humiliate me, she is no better than any of those bastards, but I know that she acts that way only because she saw how everyone else treated me when we were younger…'_

The Yondaime saw how deep in thought his son was and asked. **"Is something the matter son?"** Minato knew what was occupying the mind of his offspring but decided not to comment about it, there were things that Naruto had to solve on his own.

"No. I'm fine Otou-san." Replied the boy, then he grinned widely. "Let´s get the training started already!"

Minato was happy to see such enthusiasm fueling his child, but he had to rain on his parade. **"Training will start tomorrow; today I have an important mission for you that will help you in becoming a respected shinobi."**

Naruto leaned forward when he heard the word mission. "What kind of mission?"

Minato leaned forward too and spoke**. "This mission is very important, so I want you to do exactly as I said."**

The boy leaned even more forward, his face almost touching the bars of the cage that imprisoned his father.

The Hokage spoke in a quiet, yet commanding and serious tone**. "The first thing I want you to do is use the transformation technique to change your appearance."**

The spiky blond hair of the kid shook back and forth when he nodded vigorously.

"**Then I need you to grab all the money you saved up from all those D-ranked missions and exit the house without anyone seeing you."**

Sweat pearled his face and his swallowing was clearly heard by the walls of the sewer-like room and naturally by the refined senses of the tall Hokage.

"**Once outside you will enter the closest clothing store…"**

'I see, clothing store…wait, clothing store?' Thought Naruto alarmed catching on what the mission´s real purpose was.

"**..And buy some descent clothes."**

Immediately Naruto protested. "What! Why? My jumpsuit is in perfect conditions!"

Minato crossed his arms. **"That may be so, but that isn´t clothing a shinobi should wear, an enemy ninja could easily spot you because of the bright orange of your jumpsuit."**

"Bu-but tou-san" Whined Naruto.

"**No buts young man! I won´t have my son walk around dressed as a clown!"** Minato said, now a little more forceful.

Crestfallen the boy quietly replied. "What does it matter, almost no one knows that I'm your son and the bastards that do know hide it from me…"

The fourth fire shadow sighed at seeing his now depressed son. **"Naruto-kun, believe me when I said that a change of outfit is for the best, you have to take your life as a shinobi seriously, but if that jumpsuit means so much to you… then I will let you wear it, I don´t want to argue with you about something so stupid."**

Naruto smiled gently to his dad after hearing him. "No, your right Otou-san, I have to take my profession as a shinobi seriously, also a change in wardrobe would be the perfect way to start again, you know, draw the line between the old Naruto and the new and improved Naruto, but… can I keep some orange in it?"

The Namikaze replied. **"Of course son, just don´t overdo it."**

Words weren´t spoken for a while until the blond boy broke the silence.

"So that was our first fight, huh?" Asked Naruto.

"**It was the first and i don´t think it is going to be our last argument, you are as stubborn as your mother after all."**

Naruto was silent for a moment, but then a snicker could be heard coming from him, soon he had his arms wrapped around his stomach trying to keep in the laugher, but he couldn´t hold it in for too long and loud guffaws escaped his mouth.

The boy´s tenant watched as his son almost broke a rib laughing, at first he kept a straight face but in the end a tiny smile managed to crept up to his lips and soon enough he joined his container in a duet of honest chuckles, he couldn't help it, the kit´s laugh was contagious.

Naruto wiped away a tear forming in his eye once he calmed down. "Hey dad, before I go can you tell me about my mom."

A gentle smile formed on Minato´s lips. **"Sure, what do you want to know about her?"**

The Uzumaki scratched his right whiskered cheek. "The only thing I know about her is that she had red hair, so I would like to know everything I can about her I guess?"

"**All right then, your mother wasn´t originally from Konoha. She was a native of the Land of the whirlpools, a country now demolished by war and so was its hidden village and birthplace of your mother, Uzushiogakure, The village hidden among the whirling tides…"**

* * *

(Time skip-1 week later-)

* * *

The always busy streets of Konoha were filled with life as the villagers did their daily routines; merchants paraded around hoping to catch people's attention with smiles and overexcited speeches about the greatness of their wares, while others tried a more subtle approach and just waited inside their shops ready to attend to the needs of any customer that walked inside.

Civilians gathered in small groups on the streets, unaffected by the afternoon sun as they talked excitedly about the most recent news or juiciest gossip, all the while flocks of children chased each other's backs in a never ending game of tag evading skillfully the legs of the pedestrians.

One kid wasn´t skilled enough and collided against the mid-section of an incoming passerby causing the small boy to fall on his butt and grab his nose in pain.

Ignoring the stinging sensation on his face the kid looked upwards to see who he had crashed with. Black boots were the first thing that the boy saw as he raised his head, followed by black pants with orange wrapping around the right thigh that kept what he could distinguish as a ninja pouch in place. His gaze reached the torso and saw that the teen had his hands inside the pockets of a jet black jacket. The kid´s suspicions of the teen being a shinobi were proved right when his eyes contemplated longingly the metal plate with the symbol of the leaf´s village carved in it hanging loosely from the teen´s neck. The kid couldn´t see the now recognized as a ninja´s mouth or cheeks because the high collar of the jacket obstructed his view as the figure looked down at him with a pair of piercing blue eyes, but what he could describe as the most distinctive trait of the shinobi that towered him over was the spiky blond hair that fell lightly on top of the figure's forehead.

"I´m sorry shinobi-san!" Said the kid with a bow before running off in search of his friends, he took a glance back and saw that the ninja's jacket had a big orange spiral on the back just like other shinobi had on their vests.

The figure garbed in black blinked a couple of time in surprise at the show of respect he had just been given, he actually liked the feeling of others bowing to him. _'Maybe the clothes really do make the shinobi.' _Thought the figure and then continued walking towards his destination.

From within the depths of his mind a mocking voice didn´t take long to make itself heard_. __**'Told you so Naruto-kun, Otou-san knows what is best for you.'**_

Naruto halted his march before replying to the voice in his head. "Hey dad, how come you can speak to me while I'm awake now?"

'**I'm not completely sure but I think we can grant it to the fact that you are growing accustomed to my chakra after training with it for a week.'**

Shrugging and not caring about inquiring any further in the why of the things Naruto resumed his path onwards to the training ground 3, where he will perform the last training session of the week. _'Maybe after this dad will finally teach me some cool jutsu instead of just lazing around in my mindscape.'_

'_**Don´t talk about me like if I'm not here Naruto-kun and just for that smartass comment about my lazy being you will do 100 extra pushups!'**_

Naruto mentally grunted and muttered under his thoughts. _'Slave driver…'_

'_**What was that young man?'**_ Minato asked his son with a tone that promised pain and suffering.

'_Nothing sir!'_ Answered quickly Naruto.

'_**Good, now focus we are here but you are not alone.'**_

Doing just as his father told him Naruto looked around the training ground until his eyes landed on a spiky black…_'duck butt?'_

The blond Uzumaki quickly corrected himself. _'That´s not a normal duck butt, that is Sasuke´s duck butt haircut!'_

Naruto sighed. _'Great, the teme is here…'_ Thought the Uzumaki, obviously being sarcastic.

'_**Hmm, it looks like your teammate is also training to improve himself.'**_ An image of a Yondaime Hokage with his eyes closed and his right hand grabbing his chin formed inside the boy´s head. _**'It looks like a change of routine is essential. Naruto I want you to spar against the Uchiha to see how much you have improved.'**_

Not liking his dad´s suggestion, Naruto retorted. _'What! Why must I train with the teme?'_

'_**Like I said I want to see how well you can apply all the things you have learned this week by fighting against someone near your age, but I also see this as a chance for you to improve your relationship with your teammate after all he seems to be a good influence for you.'**_

Naruto looked to his raven haired teammate, who was currently scorching down a tree to his roots with his favorite jutsu while a maniacal smirk adorned his profile.

When the Uchiha began muttering a tantrum that consisted mainly in the words *die* and *burn* was when the Uzumaki switched his attention back to the voice in his head and simply answered.

'_You got to be shitting me!'_

'_**Watch your language Naruto-kun! Also it was an order not a suggestion so it is not up to you to decide if you want to or not, now go out there, fight and have fun while doing so! Who knows maybe you will find a friend in him?'**_

Naruto wanted to retort but the tone that his dad used let him know that the topic wasn´t up to debate so he answered with a. _'Fine, I will do it.'_ And walked closer to the Uchiha undeniably disgruntled, nonetheless he grinned when certain thought crossed his mind. _'Maybe I can get something out of this.'_

"Oi Sasuke!"

Someone calling out his name brought Sasuke Uchiha out of his surely dark thoughts and when he turned around he found himself face to face with the hyperactive, #1 loudest ninja, Naruto Uzumaki.

"What is it Dobe? Can´t you see I'm busy?" Asked Sasuke with his hands diving into his white short´s pockets.

The Uzumaki ignored Sasuke's attitude, instead he asked him as politely as possibly. "Want to spare with me?"

The Uchiha raised his left eyebrow as he just notice his teammate´s change of clothes, deciding to not ask any questions he just snorted and said. "Why would I want to spar with the dead last? Go away Naruto I don´t have time to waste with you."

Even though he was fuming inside, Naruto remembered his father teachings about keeping his emotions in check. "What? Are you scared to fight against the dobe of the class?"

Sasuke responded curtly. "No."

Trying to fight arrogance with arrogance, Naruto continued seemingly ignoring Sasuke´s answer. "I can´t blame you, after all it was me who defeated the masked ninja in the mission to wave while you were imitating a pincushion on the bridge´s floor."

Sasuke´s hands clenched and trembled in anger after hearing Naruto mocking him. "Fine, if you want to get your ass kicked so badly I won´t stop you."

Naruto closed his eyes and grinned widely. "Great. Now seeing that it was me who challenged you I will allow you to pick the rules, hell, you can use your Sharingan if you want to."

The Uchiha snorted once again. "Don´t flatter yourself dobe, I don´t need to use my Sharingan or my Jutsu to beat you."

'Got'cha.' The blond´s grin got wider. "You seem really sure of yourself Sasuke, care to back that up?"

Slightly intrigued, the black haired spoke. "What do you have in mind?"

"Let´s see, How about this? If I win our little spar then you will have to pay for my lunch." Said Naruto with his arms behind his head.

"All right, but you won´t beat me and when I win you will stop bothering me." Said the raven-haired

"Ok, so it's a Taijutsu only match, sounds good to me." The blond said as he pulled out a kunai from his pouch. "I will throw this kunai upwards and when it touches the ground, the match starts."

Sasuke settled into his fighting stance, his knees slightly flexed, body leaned forward and his arms tensed at his sides.

Without hesitation Naruto threw the dagger to the sky, the eyes of both Genin were glued to the sharp blade by the time it reached its peak height and even thought the blade reflected the sunlight neither boys averted their gaze.

As soon the Kunai impacted the ground Naruto sprung to action.

' _Hn, typical dobe, rushing in without thinking first.'_ Thought Sasuke amused by his reckless teammate. _'This won´t take long.'_

Naruto cocked his fist and when he got into striking distance released his punch directed straight to Sasuke's face. Unfortunately for Naruto, the Uchiha saw his attack coming since the moment he cocked his arm and easily ducked his punch.

Taking advantage of his position, the Uchiha connected the blond boy with a sidekick to the chin, but to his surprise the Uzumaki stopped the kick centimeter from his face by grabbing with his left hand the right food of the raven haired boy.

Before Sasuke could react he was swept of his feet by Naruto, fell on his back and had to twist his body to evade the axe kick descending hurriedly at him.

The Uchiha pushed himself back to his feet and was immediately rained down with punches courtesy of his blond teammate. Sasuke did his job of protecting himself from the blows, evading and blocking most of them, but the speed which Naruto threw his punches made it impossible for him to counterattack, even when trying to grab him the blond proved his superior speed by reeling his arms back just before Sasuke could catch him.

'_What the hell is going on! There is no way the dead-last can be faster than me!'_ Sasuke thought angrily before blocking a vicious punch coming from his right with both of his forearms.

The same show continued for a while, the tireless blond throwing punch after punch and Sasuke evading and blocking as best as he could, but as the time flew, Sasuke´s stamina flew with it. Each passing minute made it harder for the boy with the ebony eyes to evade, and soon all he could do was block the rapid blows that were slowly but surely chipping away his defense.

'_Such speed…how is it possible for the dobe to have it!'_ Sasuke thought before finally a punch breached his barriers and socked him right in the face. The Uchiha staggered back a couple of steps and Naruto used this as his chance to front kick him in the stomach causing Sasuke to grunt in pain as his back crashed against a tree.

Naruto stopped his assault as he saw his rival trying to catch back his breath. "Got enough yet Sasuke-chan?" The blond Uzumaki smirked when he saw Sasuke panting heavily, unable to talk back to him. _'Kami, it feels so good being the one giving the beating instead of receiving it.'_

To Naruto's enjoyment, Sasuke separated himself from the tree and stood on shaky legs, his head was down and his hair bangs shadowed his face_. 'So he can still go on, huh? As expected of an Uchiha, he can take quite the beating.'_ Thought amused the Uzumaki. _'Time to end this!' _And with that Naruto rushed forward faster than he did at the start of the match.

To his complete surprise he saw how bark flew as his fist impacted a tree, Sasuke had avoided his punch only by tilting his head to the left. Immediately after, Sasuke´s own fist impacted against Naruto´s stomach, causing him to cough from the power of the blow.

The blond attempted to distance himself from his opponent, but the Uchiha was having none of that. Seeking revenge against the Uzumaki for the whacking he received not minutes ago, Sasuke began a flurry of punches and kicks that Naruto managed to block, but each time he tried to land a counterattack, Sasuke evaded it and responded with an attack of his own that impacted most of the times.

'_Just minutes ago I was kicking his ass, how is he evading my attacks so easily now?'_ Thought Naruto confused and irritated until he found his answer in the eyes of his rival. _'Sharingan…'_

After seeing the red left and right eyes with one and two tomoes respectively, Naruto knew he needed a change of strategy so when he sidestepped one of Sasuke´s punch he delivered a weak, but fast roundhouse kick at his back that made him stumble forward.

Sasuke turned around and glared at the blond. "What's the matter Naruto? Afraid?"

"Keep talking Sasuke, your arrogance will be the perfect seasoner for my food when you lose."

"Keep on dreaming dobe, you will never beat me."

Naruto sighed and rubbed his temple in frustration. "You should already know that I´m no longer the same Naruto I was before. For a whole week I´ve been training my ass to the ground, since morning till night I've been improving myself to catch up with you and all the other Genin our age and I'm proud to say that from now on it is going to be you…" The Uzumaki pointed his right index finger at Sasuke. "The one who will have to catch up to me!"

"Ha! You think that you are on par with me! Don´t be so full of yourself idiot!"

The Uzumaki grinned. "All right, you win Sasuke. I'm not on par with you…I'm better than you."

That was the last straw, now Sasuke was beyond furious, so he followed his instincts and with a loud battle cry he closed the distance between the two and performed a flawless flying back kick, which was blocked by the blonde, but the strength of the kick made him skid back a couple of feet.

Before the Uchiha could attack again, Naruto aimed a straight punch at his opponent´s chest, but that proved to be a bad decision when Sasuke caught his arm, spun around and threw him over his shoulder, the young Namikaze hit the ground, but Sasuke wasn't over yet. The Uchiha placed Naruto's extended arm between his legs and said appendages were placed over the blond´s body so he could gain the desired leverage and control for his armbar to work.

"It is over loser, give up." A smirking Sasuke said as he applied pressure to the grapple.

Naruto cried out as he felt the joint of his elbow extent to an unnatural degree, but refused to give in. "I won´t give up Sasuke-teme!"

"Don´t be stubborn! If you don´t tap out I will break your arm!" The Uchiha said showing a small amount of concern toward his teammate.

A "Fuck you!" was all he received for his concern.

"Suit yourself then baka!" Sasuke applied pressure enough to hear the sound of the tearing muscles, the breaking of bones and a poof as the body below him disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Although surprised, Sasuke´s wits soon found the answer. _'A kage bunshin!'_

Rising from the ground Sasuke looked around and soon found Naruto standing with his arms crossed in a distance of 5 meters.

The Uchiha glared at the Uzumaki." You said this was a Taijutsu-only match!"

The Uzumaki returned the glare. "Funny, you said you weren´t going to use your Sharingan, yet you did so Sasuke-teme."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes but grinned nonetheless." Then let´s change the rules, from now on everything is allowed except ninja tools. That is if you are not scared dobe."

Sasuke´s answer consisted in Naruto making a cross-shaped hand seal and speaking the words. **"Kage Bunshin no jutsu. (Shadow Clone Technique.)"** In an instant two clones appeared next to the original blond. "It´s fine by me, but I warn you Sasuke. You won´t singe even one of my hairs!"

'_Singe? Since when does the dobe use such words?'_ Thought the Uchiha, but brushing it aside he said. "We´ll see about that loser!" Flashing a total of six hand signs Sasuke soon finished preparing his technique and blew through a ring he made with his right thumb and index finger a big sphere of fire that roared towards the three blonds.

The avenger smirked thinking he won as the fireball crashed against the place where the blonds were, but as the flames died out Sasuke´s eyes opened wide when he saw that instead of one burned dobe, there were three charred logs.

Acting purely on instinct the Uchiha turned around to meet the sight of the three Narutos charging at him in a single line formation.

The first Naruto skidded to a halt, crouched and performed a low reverse roundhouse kick hopping to take down Sasuke. Said Uchiha jumped over it, but even he wasn´t able to predict that the second Naruto would step on the first´s back and kick him in the chin with the point of his right boot before his feet could touch the ground, Sasuke was send upwards by the sheer force of the kick but Naruto wasn´t over yet. The third and last Uzumaki used the second blond as a springboard to jump higher, then he grasped the legs of the still elevating loner and finally he threw him back to the ground with all the strength he could muster.

Sasuke´s back hit the floor so hard that several cracks appeared in the ground, his mouth opened in a silent gasp and he felt conscious leave his body…

Landing softly Naruto saw the battered body of the Uchiha on the ground. "Maybe I overdid it…" The Uzumaki said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck.

* * *

His body felt heavy, his limbs ached and his head was screaming in pain, but as Sasuke Uchiha returned to the land of the living he recalled the events of his spar against Naruto.

He couldn't deny it; he underestimated his teammate and paid the price. During most of the spar Naruto dominated the match; sure, he gained the upper hand when he activated his Sharingan but that led him to become overconfident in his victory so when they allowed the usage of Jutsu he attempted to create the biggest fireball he could and finish the match…big mistake.

He knew exactly why he lost, when Naruto and his clones used the Shunshin no Jutsu to appear behind him he was completely defenseless, not only he was physically tired but also the fireball had consumed most of his remaining chakra reserves so when Naruto and his clones delivered that powerful combo to him he couldn´t endure it.

Irritated as he was because of his lost he couldn´t help but feel impressed at how much Naruto improved in such a small amount of time.

"_You should already know that I´m no longer the same Naruto I was before. For a whole week I´ve been training my ass to the ground, since morning till night I've been improving myself to catch up with you and all the other Genin our age and I'm proud to say that from now on it is going to be you…" The Uzumaki pointed his right index finger at Sasuke. "The one who will have to catch up to me!"_

"…" Sasuke opened his eyes slowly and raised his left arm to cover his face so his eyes could adjust to the light raining down on him through the leaves of the tree he was laying under.

"Ho, so you are finally awake." The Avenger lowered his arm and tilted his head so he could look at the grinning face of Naruto Uzumaki.

The Uzumaki stretched out his hand. "It was a good match, think you can stand up?"

The raven-haired boy snorted but took the hand anyway and was helped up by the blond. "How long was I out?" Asked Sasuke while regaining his balance and ignoring the pain in multiple parts of his body.

"Not much, roughly an hour."

Sasuke nodded and proceeded to walk out of the training ground but stopped some feet away from the boy with the whiskers and said. "Five days…"

The blond raised his eyebrows, not sure what the Uchiha was talking about. "What is it?"

The Uchiha still had his back facing Naruto but he turned his head so he could see him. "I want a rematch in five days."

Naruto sighed, knowing how stubborn Sasuke was he probably couldn´t accept the fact that he was beaten. Just when he was about to say no, the Uchiha interrupted him.

"You were right, it looks like right now it is going to be me the one who will have to catch up to you, but I assure you that if you relax with your training I will leave you in the dust, consider the spar as a training session, what do you say?" Said a grinning Sasuke.

The Uzumaki was surprised and a little scared to be honest, Sasuke admitting that he lost was something he never expected to hear. 'He still has a stick up his ass, but I guess it's an improvement.'

"Fine, you want a rematch, you got a rematch!" Naruto said excitedly. "But don´t expect me to go easy on you!"

"Hn, you better not because shall you lose I will have you clean the entire Uchiha compound." With that said he walked away.

Naruto felt a tiny smile tug on his lips when he remembered his father´s earlier words. _'A friend, huh? '_Naruto was about to go home when he felt he was forgetting something.

Then it hit him. He turned around and saw the figure of the last loyal Uchiha running as quick as his limping legs could take him, which was pretty fast for an injured shinobi.

"Oi Sasuke! You're supposed to pay for my meal!"

* * *

**E/N: And that´s it, i think that probably some people will find this chapter boring seeing that it mainly consisted in Naruto´s changes but i feel it was necessary so i can take the story in the direction i want to...**

**Also after thinking hard about it i couldn´t decide whether to make this story a harem or not. So i decided to create a poll that can decide for me!It will be posted in my profile.  
**

**Well, see you all later.**


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